NBC's ? Looks supisciously like the exact same Merlin filmed by the BBC in the UK.....

Agreed - could it be a photo mixup, or do you guys mean that NBC are showing BBC's Merlin? In which case there's the problem right there - it's rubbish! :-p

It is the same show as was on BBC. It is by far the best fantasy show on tv right now. It easily blows away Legend of the Seeker, Krod Mandoon and Robin Hood.

Sigh, at this rate we will all be watching stupid crime, doctor and reality shows cause nothing else will ever be on.

Well, I guess nobody was ready for a smallville like Merlin, and wow a scifi disaster movie didnt deliver, maybe because theres at least a scifi disaster movie straight to dvd every month.

So we've gone from "Let's take Brit TV shows and make popular US versions" (All in the Family, Three's Company, Sanford and Son) to "Let's take Brit TV shows and make adequate US versions but don't support them" (Doctor Who, Life on Mars) to "Let's just take their crap and air it" (Merlin)

I watched the first two episodes on Hulu and it was completely awful.

Merlin may have had small numbers because anyone who wanted to watch it may have seen it in other ways (downloads) after it aired in the UK.

It could also be that it was delayed by golf and some people just thought it wasn't coming on... I DVR'd it and because of the golf I missd the last of the second show so didn't even bother to watch it.

I felt that the show was pretty good, after I was able to accept that Merlin meets Arther while they are both teens, when most legends say that Merlin aged backywards and would have still been older than Arther when he was a teen., though younger than he was when Arther is an adult (huh???? LOL).

Neilsen Ratings are a very archaic way of producing actual numbers, especially these days with DVR, Internet Streaming, On Demand, etc...I enjoyed the show!!!

I loved the show...watched it on demand...hoping that get's counted

I wanted to see it but GOLF was on the same night on the same channel. I couldnt get the chance to watch it.

I don't know about anyone else, but on my cable service's guide Merlin wasn't even listed. It showed as a rerun of SVU, and I wouldn't have known any better had I not tuned in. That could be part of the problem.

It's the same show that has already aired on the BBC. NBC co-produced Merlin with the Beeb. The BBC co-produces a number of its programs with foreign networks. If you read the fine print in the credits of the new Doctor Who, you'll see it is a co-production with the Canadian Broadcast Corporation. It was some NBC exec's decision to wait until Merlin finished its season in the UK to see how it faired with British audiences before deciding when, or if, to air it domestically.

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"Merlin" is a fun show, but better than "Legend of the Seeker"? Come on now. LOTS hasn't been a consistently great show--some of the early episodes have poor dialogue and uneven acting. But the show definitely found its footing by episode 8 and features some interesting stories, lavish visuals, and excellent acting from the two leads. Definitely the best sword-and-sorcery series on TV right now!

Maybe it's because everybody new what Arthur was like when he was young already. I don't want to see Merlin when he was a teenager, I want to see him as a full grown Wizard kicking magical A$$. Besides doesn't he age slower than humans according to the mythology? so he wouldn't have been a teen when Arthur was.

I liked Merlin very much, I think it deserves a chance. Support of all Sci-fi shows is greatly needed because I don't know about anyone else but I'm tired of all the Law & Orders and CSI, If we all show these networks that scifi can bring in the ratings then maybe they'll actually get behind a scifi series instead of ordering 13 episodes and then only airing 5 all the rest either wind up on the SciFi Channel or on the series DVD. Also British tv does not suck, BBC America is one of my favorite channels and I've watch some of the best SciFi shows I've seen in awhile from them.

Umm..I have never watched Merlin on BBC but it can not be better then Torchwood !!! when does that air again on BBC America .?? I can't find it on the on demand channel either.

I remember some vague advertising for Merlin a while back, then it seemed to disappear into the ether. Then again, I haven't really watched any network tv since summer hit. That being said, when I randomly turned the tv on expecting some background noise news/sports/crime show, I was pleasantly surprised to see lads in medieval costumes fighting with swords. After watching the 2 episodes NBC ran, I would say that I was intrigued enough to keep watching, especially because there's nothing but horrible summer programming on right now. It wasn't perfect, but it seems to be doing quite well in the UK and I'm willing to give any network attempt at historical fantasy programming a chance. The actors portraying young Arthur/Merlin were quite strong, I thought, balancing a nice level of faux-medievalness with just enough modern-day teen angst. Plus, it's nice to see Anthony Head on screen again.

This is great family entertainment, I, the wife, our 12, 11, and 8 year old haven't missed a single episode. We are tired of raunchy comedy shows that pander to the least common denominator. Thanks for something we can watch with the kids without cringing.